


The Invisible Boyfriend

by mariuspondmercy



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-09-01 02:15:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8603239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariuspondmercy/pseuds/mariuspondmercy
Summary: Dating sucks. We make it easier.Huh. Poe was intrigued. After a bit of research on and about their site, he found out the following five things:
- They didn’t give a damn about your gender- The service they provided included 200 text messages and photos- You could build your own boyfriend. Choose traits, choose a photo, choose his age.- The messages were sent by real people, the service’s employers, and not by robots. And the employers apparently played their characters very well.- The service has been featured on BBC and Buzzfeed, so it should be good and not a scheme to get his money. Well, it was still a capitalistic company, obviously they wanted his money. But at least it didn’t seem too bad.
Without another thought, Poe got out his credit card and signed up for the website. Within a few minutes, Poe had created his perfect dream boyfriend. A bit of a nerd, adventurous, dry humour, younger than him but not by much. He had a hard time choosing a photo – apparently selfies some employers and volunteers had uploaded – but settled on a gorgeous blond. There he was, his Finn, his fake boyfriend.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lifefindsaway](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lifefindsaway/gifts).



> This is a little Thank You to Victoria for reading through my term paper!

The bass was drumming heavily, creeping through his body. Poe sipped at his beer, leaning over against the bar, closer to Snap to better understand his friend. Both their voices were nearly drowned out by the cacophony of sounds around them. On the dance floor, Karé tried to teach Jessika some more elaborated moves but failed horribly. Soon enough, they joined Snap and Poe at the bar. Jessika, after flirting excessively with the bar maid, managed to get them a round of free shots.   
  
"To us!" She shouted, raising her glass.   
  
"To us!" The others chorused.   
  
"To our day off tomorrow," Snap supplied.   
  
"To enjoying the sun and the sea," Poe yelled over the music.   
  
"And the girls," Jessika grinned.   
  
"And the girls, hear hear," Snap laughed. "Ah, California. The one place I'd settle down."  
  
"You mean buy an impressive house in an impressive neighbourhood to impress the Californian girls?" Poe smirked.   
  
"Poe, my friend, my dear friend - yes," Snap laughed and clasped Poe's shoulder, squeezing it softly.   
  
"To Snap's house, then!" Poe clinked his glass with Snap's, downing the content quickly.   
  
The others followed suit, downing their liquor in swift motions. It was rare for all of them to come together - some of their friends were still missing in their merry group. Poe had met them all during his pilot training. It was easy to form friendships but hard to maintain them, seeing as most of his close friends were commercial pilots as well and they hardly ever had days off together. In addition, neither of the four lived in the same city. But now, as luck will have it, they all stayed in California for a few days, meaning with their schedules they got a night and an entire day together. If Snap really were to move to California, he'd share a home town with another of their common friends, L’ulo, who was currently in... Europe, somewhere in Europe, if Poe remembered correctly. Some cold country there. Russia? Maybe somewhere in Scandinavia. After so many shots and long drinks, Poe's memory didn't quite supply him with such information anymore.   
  
"You're obviously all gonna get a key to my future Californian house," Snap slurred. "For when you don't want to stay in a hotel or for the California Girls. Or boys, Poe, or boys."   
  
Poe grimaced. "Men, rather. You know I'm not into twinks. Or anything casual."  
  
"Babe, anything non-casual is really hard with our job," Karé smiled softly. "So you should enjoy your life and live a little, Mr. Waiting-For-Mr-Perfect."   
  
"Who says I don't already have a boyfriend?" Poe shrugged his shoulders and leaned back against the bar. "Maybe I just wanted to keep him secret until it's something more than a fling. You guys haven't seen me in over half a year."   
  
"You don't have a boyfriend cause back in training you used to gush about every cute piece of ass. Excessively. We'd know if there was someone," Jessika told him.   
  
"I'll give you that," Poe laughed. "I did really tell you about all the crushes I had."  
  
"Yet you never acted on them. Shame, Dameron. I bet that Tom guy would've been The One." Jessika winked at him.  
  
Poe only groaned and shoved her lovingly. "His name wasn't even Tom!"  
  
"He looked like Tom from MySpace though," Jessika said.   
  
At that, the other two started laughing, Snap nearly choking on his beer. It had been something they'd relentlessly teased Poe about back in the day. Poe had been a goner for that guy – who had sadly been straight.

“Laugh all you want! It’s not like you guys never had any unrequited crushes. I’m only saying Desirée, the stewardess from Canada.”

“I wasn’t crushing!” Jessika protested.

“I wasn’t crushing on her either,” Snap mumbled.

Poe simply kissed both their cheeks and took another sip of his beer. It felt so good to finally meet his friends again. Sure, they skyped occasionally but it had been so long since he’d seen them in person, could hug and cuddle them. Since Poe had his ‘base’ in London, he couldn’t even meet his closest friends even if he had a few days to waste at home. During those days, Poe couldn’t deny that the wish for a partner was ever-present. As a pilot, it was incredibly difficult though. Of course, he met one or the other potential partner, but would he really want to date a fellow pilot or a steward? No, he wouldn’t. He wanted a boyfriend with a steady job, someone to come home to. A proper base, a safety net. Then again, which man with a stable life would like to date a pilot? Someone who was always on the go, someone who was rumoured to cheat on their partner constantly?  No, it seemed like Poe really had no chance to get the life he dreamed of. He was a pilot, and that was a dream come true. He had no right to complain.

What he DID complain about though was the throbbing headache he had when he woke up in his hotel room the next morning. With a groan, Poe sat up and rubbed his eyes blearily. For a few moments, he couldn’t quite figure out if the pounding was in his head or at the door until he heard Jessika yell his name.

“Dameron! Time to get up, wakey wakey eggs and bakey!”

Poe groaned. “Can’t get up yet, Pava!” he yelled back, much to his headache’s displeasure.

“Ohhhh, did you take someone home with you last night?” She teased from the other side of the door.

After a few shots of tequila, the group had somehow dispersed. Poe had seen Jessika and Snap here and there throughout the night, sometimes a woman or two with them. Poe himself had had his fun with a guy, nothing too bad, just heavy make-out sessions. Though the guy had smoked shortly before their activities – which was why Poe had cut them short. He didn’t fancy the taste of cigarette smoke on his tongue and in his mouth.

“Ohh, Poe Dameron, are you having a visitor over? The handsome bloke I saw you with yesterday night?”

Now, Poe had two options: Tell her the truth or lie to her, to get some more precious hours of sleep.

“’S not him,” he said loudly.

Well, that wasn’t a lie per se.

“Good for you, scoring some ass! We still expect you down in an hour for a proper breakfast before we have to part ways once more. Deal?”

“Deal. I’ll be down then.”

“Enjoy your hour, Dameron.”

Poe could clearly hear the teasing tone of her voice, but he didn’t mind. Instead, he set his alarm for a further 30 minutes, pulled the covers over his head and went back to sleep. Of course there was a lot of teasing at breakfast. A lot of “Poe is back on the horse”, which wasn’t really what Poe had intended. He had only wanted some more sleep, but he should’ve known. He was sick of all the teasing, so, on a whim, Poe decided to take the lie just that little bit further, if only to keep his friends off his back for a while – especially Jessika. He could get a good two to three years out of it.

“I think I wanna keep in touch with him,” Poe hummed before taking a sip of his coffee.

“What?” Snap nearly choked on his coffee. “But you live on different continents!”

“Oh, yeah but no. He’s actually from the UK,” Poe lied, shrugging his shoulders. God, he had way too much fun with this.

“Does that mean you’ve got a new crush?”

“Poe Dameron doesn’t do anything half-assed,” Poe grinned at his friends. “But enough about me. How were your nights?”

Snap and Jessika launched right into explanations and exaggerated tales, because they knew Poe well enough to know they wouldn’t get anything out of their friend. Not right now, but maybe when the time was right. Though, as life sometimes went, the right time didn’t come for another three months, when Jessika and Poe met up in the Ukraine. For some inexplicable reason, Poe had kept up the pretence of having a boyfriend. Possibly because Poe was a hopeless romantic who dreamed of one day giving the world to the love of his life. So what if a white lie kept his friends off his back, so what if it provided some much needed relief from feeling lonely thanks to constant questioning? Questioning by his father, too, whom he had, foolishly one might add, told the same lie.

“So… show me a photo of your boyfriend?” Jessika asked.

“Don’t have on.” Poe shrugged his shoulders.

“Wait, what? Poe Dameron, I’m starting to believe that you’ve been lying to me.” She poked his chest. “I believe you don’t have a boyfriend at all, I believe you’re a filthy liar.”

“I do, but my phone crashed and I have no photos or music on it anymore. Hadn’t had the time to set it up again properly, sorry. But I’ll send you a photo as soon as I get a new one?”

“If I don’t get one within a week, I know you’ve been fooling me.”

“I’m not making up a boyfriend, Jessika, I’m not 12 anymore.”

“Alright. Then you can tell me his name, can’t you?”

Shit. Poe nodded softly, taking a sip from his Corona to prolong the time until he had to answer her. His eyes quickly darted around the room, landing on a bottle of Finlandia vodka at the bar.

“Finn,” Poe said, “his name is Finn.”

As soon as Poe was back in his hotel room that evening, he began his search for a fake boyfriend. At first he thought about taking a random photo from the internet but he didn’t put it above Jessika to look for the photo online. She was suspicious enough already.

His first search led him to WikiHow, seven steps on how to fake having a boyfriend, with pictures. Not very helpful, he knew all those things already. But the staged breakup would actually be a good idea. Then again, Poe liked having a fake boyfriend too much to just break up with him. After some more research, some more reading on websites aimed towards teenage girls (at least Poe now knew what boys really want and how to keep his hair lush and bouncy this winter), he stumbled upon something called Invisible Boyfriend.

_Dating sucks. We make it easier._

Huh. Poe was intrigued. After a bit of research on and about their site, he found out the following five things:

  1. They didn’t give a damn about your gender
  2. The service they provided included 200 text messages and photos
  3. You could build your own boyfriend. Choose traits, choose a photo, choose his age.
  4. The messages were sent by real people, the service’s employers, and not by robots. And the employers apparently played their characters very well.
  5. The service has been featured on BBC and Buzzfeed, so it should be good and not a scheme to get his money. Well, it was still a capitalistic company, obviously they wanted his money. But at least it didn’t seem too bad.



Without another thought, Poe got out his credit card and signed up for the website. Within a few minutes, Poe had created his perfect dream boyfriend. A bit of a nerd, adventurous, dry humour, younger than him but not by much. He had a hard time choosing a photo – apparently selfies some employers and volunteers had uploaded – but settled on a gorgeous blond. There he was, his Finn, his fake boyfriend. Would there be multiple people texting him, Poe wondered. Probably, as the service promised texts 24/7.

He quickly typed out their meet-story (met in a bar in California, took you to my hotel room, we decided to try is since we both live in London) and waited.

At the other end of Europe, as Poe was currently in his Ukrainian hotel room, a message appeared on a young man’s computer screen. A new customer. He quickly scanned the traits, the persona he had to adopt, before he shot a text to Poe, all according to company regulations and the manual.

**[Finn]** Hey, this is Finn. How’s it going?

 He leaned back in his chair and switched over to one of his other customers, Henrike. Henrike was 35, moved to Birmingham from Kiel about half a year ago. She was sweet, Finn liked chatting to her, even though the persona she had created was so vastly different from Finn himself. Sometimes it was a bit tricky, adopting the different characters. Well, Finn thought bitterly, his failed career as an actor had to be useful for something.

Sometimes it wasn’t easy, being an Invisible Boyfriend. The people confessed lots of things to him, it got very personal very quickly. It was hard to stay in character when all he wanted to do was hug someone and tell them it was gonna be fine, everything would be alright. Sometimes he just wanted to slap some figurative sense into the people who were trying to make their ex jealous with the service. Or who were racist or otherwise assholes. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it; he literally had to answer these people. He already got reprimanded once, for breaking character and sending an angry voice message to a man who had only used their service to insult men-loving-men. It had been a mess. So now Finn had to be really careful should he want to keep his job. Yeah, sure, he only had this job because his career as an actor hadn’t yet worked out and he could very well work as a receptionist or a barista but most of the time Finn really liked his job.

The night shifts were hard sometimes. Right now, it was 3m and he still had an hour to go. Of course, this meant that it was already 5am in the Ukraine. Poe was just curled up in bed when his phone chimed. He opened one eye and grabbed his phone, excitedly reading the message.

**[Poe]** Hey Finn! Good to hear from you. I’m actually in the Ukraine right now, 5am, so I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

On a second thought he sent another text, though it felt a bit strange, talking to the stranger like he really was his boyfriend.

**[Poe]** What are you up to these days?

Finn furrowed his brows and pulled up the profile again. Aha, so fake-Finn was interested in art, movies, was adventurous but enjoyed calm evenings on the sofa. Quickly, he looked up the list of suggested activities – yes, their company had such a thing. How about a museum? Was there currently anything interesting on in… oh yes, London, fake-Finn lived in London. Real-Finn lived in London, too, yet that didn’t mean he knew everything that was going on. But, as fate had it, Finn and his best friend Rey had just visited the Film Museum at the South Bank. He didn’t even have to pretend, didn’t have to look up reviews and photos online for things he never went to. Though, the work manual said they should keep it as shallow as possible. Sometimes they even suggested fake restaurants to meet their fake partners.

**[Finn]** Film Museum at South Bank last Saturday. You’ve been there?

Figuring that Poe wouldn’t answer until the next morning, and Finn’s shift was over soon, he quickly wrote down his impressions of the museum and all the exhibits for his co-worker so she could continue the conversation with Poe easily. Soon enough, it was time for Finn to pack his things and venture home. Late night shifts weren’t all that bad; at least the metro was empty. He made himself a small snack before watching an episode of a show he’d just started. By the time he went to bed, his friend and roommate Rey was just getting up for work. His last thought before falling asleep was with Poe – he wondered if Poe even replied to his colleague or if he slept in and would only reply by the time Finn was there for his next shift.

In Ukraine’s capital, Poe woke up the next morning to Finn’s text, smiling softly at the message, before he reminded himself it was because of Poe that Finn even liked movies. Maybe the person (or people?) behind the screen wasn’t even keen on movies, hadn’t been to the cinema in months or even years! Well… it was easy to forget.

**[Poe]** I haven’t been to a museum in years, too much stress at work. Did you like the museum? What was there to see?

After sending off the message, Poe took a quick shower. Maybe he could show Jessika the messages now, and the photo the website had sent him. Surely, that would convince her of the existence of his boyfriend. When Poe got out of the shower and was fully dressed, there was still no new message from Finn. Of course, he had only bought 200 texts a month and they filled quickly if Finn were to answer every message – he had read online that some partners only replied to every second text. It was a strange service. Poe already intended on cancelling Invisible Boyfriend after a month. After all, this was just for Jessika. He might very well tell her he’d broken up with this Finn guy. And his father? Yeah, he could totally tell him the same lie. It was really no problem.

Except.

Except, two months later Poe was still registered, was still talking to Finn – or the person behind Finn. Finn was kind, funny, interesting, charming. It was nice to have someone to text when he landed, someone to whom he could talk to about something other than work. Someone who answered no matter how late it was. Sometimes it was fucking easy to forget that Finn wasn’t real.

**[Poe]** What are you up to tonight?

Finn sighed. He was on duty that evening, and with Poe being in London they obviously were in the same time zone. He liked talking to Poe, maybe a little too much. At work, they kept tabs of how many messages they had sent to a person – this month Poe had already received 150 texts. Depending on what Poe was doing tonight, they could easily write another 50 texts. If Poe didn’t buy more texts, that was basically it. They would be done communicating.

**[Finn]** Out for drinks with friends. I’m obviously telling them about how amazing my boyfriend is.

Flirting was allowed, even required. And Finn liked flirting with Poe. He was funny and kind and interesting – the exact opposite of how Finn saw himself.

**[Poe]** I’m very flattered! :DDD Hope you enjoy yourself! I’m gonna watch a movie and go to bed early.

**[Finn]** Like a responsible adult. Do you have an early flight tomorrow?

**[Poe]** I’m actually off tomorrow but I want to finally just sleep. You know how nice sleep is? So nice. So very nice. I can wake up with the birds, listen to the rain… and no one forces me to get up early.

**[Finn]** why would you even wake up with the birds when you can sleep in?

**[Poe]** Cause otherwise the day is so short and I can’t enjoy not doing anything. I think that makes sense.

**[Finn]** That absolutely makes sense.

**[Poe]** I know! Anyway, you better go back to your friends, and I go into my lonely and cold bed. Enjoy your night ;)

Poe sighed softly and placed his phone on his nightstand. He was already changed into his comfy pants, wearing fluffy socks when his phone buzzed a few minutes later. Hoping it was Finn, Poe quickly looked at the text. Unfortunately, Finn hadn’t texted back. Of course not. Part of Poe had to remind himself over and over again that Finn was not a person, but a service, a company.

**[Jess]** rumour has it you’re home! BF with you?

**[Poe]** nope, out with friends.

**[Jess]** rumour also has it that I’m at your place and you just gotta open the door if you feel like having some company.

That came as quite a shock to Poe. On the one hand, he of course was always happy to see Jessika. But on the other hand, he was quite in a weird mood, thinking about that strange situation with his Invisible Boyfriend. Maybe… maybe he could just tell Jessika? Come clean about his ‘boyfriend’ and get her advice. Though he already knew what to do: cancel the service.

**[Poe]** Hold on!

He quickly got out of bed and opened the door for Jessika. Her beaming smile fell the second she lay eyes on Poe.

“Oh, Poe, you look like shit. What happened? Something with Finn? I mean, you’re home for a whole weekend and he lives in the same city but he’s rather out and about than with you? What an asshole!”

“Just… come in first, okay? Gotta tell you something.”

Poe invited her in and handed her a pair of his own sweatpants. It was just easier that way, they could eat some ice cream in bed and he was certain Jessika brought over alcohol. He was right on that. Soon, the two of them were curled up on Poe’s sofa under his very cozy blanket, Poe with his head in Jessika’s lap. They each had a bowl with ice cream, drowned in Baileys.

“So, tell me, what’s been going on?” Jessika started playing with his hair – something that always brought some comfort to Poe.

“It’s about Finn. He’s not… I was so annoyed with you guys always wanting to hook me up so I made him up.”

“But… you got text messages from him.”

“Mhm, I hired a service. There’s… it’s called an Invisible Boyfriend. Bottom line is: you can create your own boyfriend and pay a certain amount of money to receive 200 texts a month. I guess there’s different people sitting on computers or such. By now I can kinda see who’s texting or rather that different people are texting. And… it got out of hand.”

“What do you mean by that?”

She was still playing with his hair, soothing Poe, giving him the courage to go on. It was so silly! There was nothing to be ashamed of. So he kinda got attached to this Invisible Boyfriend, so what? He’s probably not the first person to fall for the illusion and probably won’t be the last one, either.

“I think I developed a crush on the persona I had created. The illusion was so good, you know? It felt like he cared. I mean, of course it did. That’s their job, make the other person believe they’re loved and valued. I-it… I felt so good.”

“Oh honey… you are loved and valued, you know that, right? We all love you, Karé and Snap and L’ulo and I. We love you.”

“I know but it’s not the same.”

“You could’ve just told us, Poe. That the teasing is going too far, that we should stop. We would have.”

“Yeah, I know. I don’t know why I did it.”

“But what are you gonna do now? I mean, will you continue texting that guy? Or… girl? Or… the persona, the character? I mean… it’s not a real person.”

“I know. Still got a couple of texts left, so I think I’ll keep texting and one before Finn’s last text, I’ll tell them that I won’t order more texts, that I’m dropping out because I got sucked in too much. Not that they wouldn’t know. I mean, I assume they have my details and know how many texts they’ve used and that I didn’t prolong the contract. And I doubt they personally care about me.”

“You never know about that,” Jessika said, ruffling his hair a little bit. “Thank you for telling me. It means a lot. Even though you’re a bit of an idiot! I don’t even want to know how much you’ve fucking paid for that service.”

“Yeah, it was really silly.” He sighed heavily and cuddled closer to Jessika. “I fucked up. I crushed on someone who doesn’t exist.”

“Darling, it’s okay. I think once you cancel the service, it’ll all go back to normal, don’t you think?”

“I’m hoping.”

It was around midnight, Jessika and Poe curled up in bed together because of course Poe offered his best friend to stay the night. Neither had work the next day, so it was perfect. Plus, Poe really enjoyed some quality time with Jessika; it had been too long since last time already. Just the two of them, like old times. Back in the day, people usually assumed they were a thing but there had never been anything between Jessika and Poe. She simply wasn’t into men.

“Think your phone’s buzzing,” Jessika mumbled, her fingers still in Poe’s curls, both pilots already half asleep.

Poe grunted noncommittedly but grabbed his phone to check his message. “Finn texted.”

“Show me.” Without waiting for an answer, Jessika took the phone out of Poe’s hand.

**[Finn]** I hope you had a good night! My friends are eager to meet you soon.

Jessika cocked an eyebrow. “So… can I read the history?”

“Please, go ahead,” Poe nodded.

Quickly, Jessika read through the last few messages, the exchange between Poe and ‘Finn’. Poe worried his bottom lip between his teeth, scooting a little closer to his friend.

“So? What do you say?”

“I say that you can clearly read that there’s more than one person texting you. Some of them sound like they’re only doing their job, some of them sound like they’re really interested in you as a person.”

“Mhm, I know. That’s why it’s sometimes so hard to realise that Finn is only a character I created and not a real person. Can you… could you text them that I’m cancelling the service? And could you actually cancel it for me, please? I don’t trust myself to do it.”

“Of course.” Jessika kissed his cheek and quickly typed out the message before cancelling the service. For good measure, she also changed the password of Poe’s account – just to be on the safe side.

That night, Poe had quite a fitful sleep. He had not received a text from ‘Finn’ but then again, why would he? He just cancelled the service and the other party was under no obligation to ‘break up’ with him or anything. Even the next day, Poe didn’t feel much better. At least he had Jessika, who decided that a breakfast out of the house would be a good cure for a very strange case of heartbreak – but only under the condition that he’d leave his phone at home. Poe gladly agreed, knowing it would do him good to not check for a message from ‘Finn’ every other minute.

On the other side of London, Finn had just started his morning shift. He had taken over from Zach, an engineering student in his last semester. They shared a few clients; Poe was one of them. After a quick chat, Finn made himself a cup of tea before sitting down at his work laptop to check his clients and their texts. Linda had told ‘Dean’ about her evening at her parents’ place, Josh had complained about his co-workers to ‘Tristan’ and Poe… well, Poe had told ‘Finn’ he’d cancel the service.

**[Poe]** Hey his is Poe’s friend Jessika. He asked me to let you know that he won’t pay for another month.

**[Finn]** Hey Finn, hey Jessika. I sincerely hope the service wasn’t unsatisfying. If you have any complaints, please let the provider know.

There wasn’t really a protocol on how to proceed in such situations. Usually they just got an email saying a client cancelled the service. Was Finn even allowed to answer? Well, they still had text messages open, so why not? Even if they fired him, it wasn’t the end of the world.

Finn had seen a few clients come and go in his time. But Poe? Poe had been different. It had felt as if they’d actually connected. They’ve had late night conversations about everything and nothing; Finn had really enjoyed Poe’s stories about his job and his friends. Maybe Poe wasn’t dissatisfied with him, maybe he had just found a real life boyfriend.

**[Poe]** That is not the reason. Quite the opposite, actually. Got too attached, too used to it. Time to face reality again, not a character I made up. I greatly enjoyed our conversations though, but who knows how much of that was actually the person/the people behind the screen and how much of it was a script. I mean, I practically told the company how my boyfriend should behave, so of course I got attached.

**[Finn]** I’m glad we did our job to your satisfaction.

**[Poe]** You all truly did. I hope you can satisfy all your other customers just as well. Goodbye, Finn, it was really meeting you.

**[Finn]** Goodbye, Poe, it was nice meeting you, too.

Finn sighed and clicked out of the conversation. Well, that was somewhat strange. It was definitely the strangest break-up conversation he’s ever had. Usually the people just cancelled the service and that’s it. No explanation, nothing. But Poe had always been different. Maybe, Finn thought, the service they provided wasn’t as amazing as he thought. He knew this was just until he got a job as an actor but maybe the odd relationship he’s had with Poe, the closeness he had felt towards the letters on screen were the final straw to get him out of that job.

~~~~~~~

Six months later, Finn really had a different job. He had been hired at a small theatre in London – a step towards his goal of one day playing at the Globe. Sure, being a TV or movie actor would be really cool, but for now he enjoyed his upcoming role as an old German Earl. Of course, working in theatre was a lot harder and a lot more time-consuming than working at Invisible Boyfriends. But it was also so much more rewarding.

The best thing about it all? He got to work with Rey. They two of them met during their first year at school and had been best friends ever since. While Finn was an actor, Rey was a set designer. It was simply amazing to be spending so much time with her. They didn’t even get on each other’s nerves, which was highly surprising. That was also the reason Rey had dragged him out on their sacred Sunday. Usually, Finn spent those days lazing around in bed, watching movies with Rey or learning his lines. But today she had insisted on taking him out. Breakfast, coffee and a trip to the Globe – she couldn’t help it and Finn didn’t really want to go to the Film Museum again. It reminded him of Poe too much. He still thought about him every now and then, wondering if he’d ever been to the small coffee shop Finn loved so much, since they both shared a passion for independent cafés rather than chains.

“How about a trip on the London Eye?” Rey suggested, taking a sip from her coffee.

“It’s so expensive… is it really worth it?”

“I’ll treat you to it. You can buy me another coffee afterwards. Deal?”

Finn sighed. There was no way he could win that argument with Rey. She had quite a will. Plus, the sun was just setting. It would be beautiful to watch that from high above.

“Alright, deal,” Finn grinned.

Soon enough, the two of them were queuing on a cold November afternoon. There were still a few people in line, despite the weather. Couples, Finn supposed. Though he figured that most people also suspected him and Rey to be in love. There was a time the two of them suspected that, too. But that idea didn’t last very long.

“How long even is the trip?”

Rey shrugged her shoulders. “A while?”

Finn snorted and pressed a small kiss to her temple. “Alright then. Can you believe that I’ve never done this before?”

“Neither have I. But I’m excited! I just hope the people we’ll share the cabin with are nice.”

“It’s gonna be either the group of people behind of us or the couple in front of us.”

“They seem sweet,” Finn mused, watching the two goof around with each other.

“10 bucks she’s gay,” Rey grinned.

“Wait what?”

“The way they interact with each other, just like we do. A romantic couple does it differently.”

Finn cocked his head and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. So the bet is kinda stupid because I agree with you. But, 10 bucks that you can’t get her to agree to go for coffee with you.”

“You’re on.”

Luckily, they got into the same cabin. Otherwise the whole bet would’ve been fairly senseless. It didn’t take Rey three minutes until she was talking to the other woman in quiet voices away from Finn and the unknown man.

“It’s really beautiful, isn’t it?”

Finn smiled softly at the voice next to him. “Yeah, it really is. I’ve never seen London from up high. Have you?”

“I have, yes. It looks best during sunsets. I hope I’m not bothering you?”

“Absolutely not,” Finn said. “I think my friend is busy with your friend right now anyway. I like the company. So you’ve been here often?”

“What a cheap pick up line,” the guy laughed softly. He shook his head and went on: “Nah, this is actually my first time.” The man leaned against the balustrade and smiled at Finn, who immediately beamed back.

“Really? Cause you said you’ve seen London from above a few times?”

“Oh yeah, from the plane! I fly frequently, that’s why.”

“Oh, you do? I’ve never been on a plane before. Kinda scared of it, you know? But my friend over there, Rey, she wants to go to Dublin next year for a theatre workshop and I’m thinking about joining her. I could take a coach and the ferry but flying would be much easier.”

“Are you in the theatre business?”

“I’m an actor,” Finn proudly told him. “Though I’m actually staring in my first play after graduation… I haven’t had a lot of luck. Usually I turn up and they tell me that I’m not who they envisioned for the role. Not saying they’re racist but they’re racist.”

“I feel you. Being Latino, I had to face quite a few setbacks due to racist assholes, too. So what’s the play about?”

“It’s _Emilia Galotti_ and I’m playing the main character’s father who later on murders his daughter.”

“Well that’s a spoiler! Maybe I would’ve wanted to see the play.”

“You still can. After all, I didn’t tell you the how and why of the murder. It’s premiering in two weeks and then we’ll be playing for a year. Plenty of time.”

Of course Finn didn’t actually believe that the mystery man would come see the play. But flirting was fun. He hadn’t done that since… well, since Poe, really, since his job was over.

“But if it’s on for a year, what about the theatre workshop next year?”

“That one starts soon after we finish. The entire December, actually. So I guess Rey and I will spend Christmas in Dublin. Should I decide to board a murderous metal bird.”

The man laughed loudly and Finn was immediately sold. Shit. He couldn’t just have a nice conversation with a random guy over London and crush on him! That was not a thing he should do, absolutely not. Especially not when he still wondered how Poe was doing, if he’d seen anything interesting lately.

“You’ll just let me know when you’re flying and I’ll try to get on that plane to make sure you and Rey are safe. Deal?”

“I don’t know how you’ll assure that but it’s a deal,” Finn chuckled.

“Awesome! So… Should I give you my phone number for that?”

“Oh, of course, yes!” Finn quickly pulled out his phone and handed it over to the stranger.

“Alright, there we go. I didn’t send myself a text because I hate when people do that. So the ball’s in your court and our time over London is up.” He smiled softly at Finn and handed him back his phone. “Au revoir, stranger.”

The man waved at Finn as he quickly followed his friend outside and vanished in the darkness of the London South Bank.

“Finn? Hello, Earth to Finn?” Rey softly punched his arm to get his attention. “I think you owe me ten bucks.”

“Hm? Oh, really? Nice! Congrats on getting a date.”

“You seem quite charmed, too.”

“I had a nice chat with your date’s friend. He gave me his number so I could text him because I’m scared of flying. He saved it under ‘Fly Boy’ with a little plane emoji.”

Rey snorted. “Tell me all about it while we grab a coffee to sit by the riverside.”

Finn even got her a slice of cake to go with her coffee. They told each other what had happened during their ride on the London Eye, leaving both parties with smiles on their lips which lasted until they were home that evening.

On the other end of London, Poe was pacing back and forth in his flat. “Do you think I was too forward? He hasn’t texted me yet. Maybe I was too forward. I just… After the whole mess with Fi-the Invisible Boyfriend, I kinda feel ready to move on and he seemed so nice and sweet and…”

“Poe, chill,” Jessika sighed. “I’m meeting his friend tomorrow for coffee. I could ask her, if you want to?”

“Oh no, Jess, that’s just embarrassing. I’m a grown man and if the cute guy I flirt with has no interest in me, then I have to accept that. Oh shit.” He stared at his phone. “He texted me.”

“So?” Jessika kissed his cheek. “Read it to me?”

**[Unknown Number]** Hey there, Fly Boy! I don’t have dates for our flight yet but the play is starting Saturday in two weeks. Menier Chocolate Factory, make sure to look out for the name Finn Organa ;)

“I think fate is playing a cruel trick on me, Jess,” Poe groaned and let himself fall onto his bed. “His name is Finn, can you believe that?”

“It’s a really common name, Poe. Sure, it’s a coincidence, a strange one at it. Maybe that just means you belong together. Fate isn’t playing a cruel trick, it’s helping you out.” Jessika sat down next to him. “Go on, text him back.”

**[Poe]** Finn, hello! I promise I’ll watch the play. It’s funny, I once had a sort-of-friend called Finn. You can keep me as Fly Boy or change it to Poe, if you want :D

Poe once again got highly anxious when Finn didn’t answer. It took nearly half an hour until Finn replied.

**[Finn]** … I once had a sort-of-friend named Poe.

**[Finn]** Are you by any chance working as a pilot?

**[Poe]** Are you by any chance working for a company called Invisible Boyfriend?

“Shit,” Finn murmured. “Shit.”

He quickly got out of bed and knocked rapidly on Rey’s door. With some force, the door was opened soon, a disgruntled Rey facing Finn.

“What in the name of…”

“It’s him!”

“Who’s him?”

“Poe!”

“What?” Rey shook her head to clear her thoughts and rubbed her eyes. “Fucking hell, Finn. Full sentences.”

“The guy I met, your date’s friend, his name is Poe! He said he once knew someone named Finn and I said I once knew someone named Poe and asked if he’s a pilot and he asked if I work at Invisible Boyfriends and oh God, it’s him, it’s Poe!”

“Shit, really?” Rey took a deep breath. “Okay, Finn, you’re gonna meet up with him tomorrow. No Ifs and Buts.”

Finn nodded eagerly and quickly typed out a reply before stopping himself. “What if he doesn’t want to talk to me? What if he feels deceived by me?”

“What if you just text him and see what comes off it? You’re brave, you’re cool, you’re awesome and he flirted with you today.”

“That’s before he knew who I really am. Oh God, he texted me again!”

**[Poe]** I’m sorry if that was too straight-forward. I understand if you don’t wanna talk to me now. I don’t know. Must be weird for you to be in contact with a former client of yours. I’m sorry, I didn’t wanna intrude.

Poe worried his bottom lip between his teeth, curling up close to Jessika.

“This is a mess,” he sighed deeply.

“A bit of a mess. I’d honestly understand if it would be too weird for him. He knows so much about you, probably, and you know nothing about him and yet believe to know so much.”

“Yeah, rub it in,” Poe groaned, hitting her softly with a pillow.

**[Finn]** I don’t find it weird. I’m sorry I look nothing like the Finn you imagined. Not a tall, blond hunk. I AM a nerd though. Not very adventurous. I don’t remember what else you wanted your Invisible Boyfriend to be like.

**[Poe]** I think being an actor is pretty adventurous. And getting on a murderous iron bird is very brave ;) So what do you say, coffee so I can see if ‘dry humour’ is a trait you possess as well?

**[Finn]** our friends are already meeting up tomorrow. We could join them at their meeting point and then split ways?

**[Poe]** It’s a date!

**[Finn]** I’d hope so! See you tomorrow (:

Poe beamed at Jessika and kissed her cheek. “Can you believe my luck?”

“I think you have to thank me. Had I not talked to his friend, you wouldn’t have talked to him. So I want an honorary mention at your wedding, please.”

Laughing softly, Poe kissed her cheek again. “Of course.”


End file.
